House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has a public relations problem, and it’s George Santos.
The newly-sworn-in Congressman seems to be aiming for the largest number of scandals in record time, and McCarthy has to find a way to pretend he’s doing something about it.
Santos is reportedly being sought by Brazilian authorities over an allegation that he stole a checkbook belonging to a client of his mother, then a home health aide.
If that’s not enough, he’s admitted to ’embellishing’ his resume, reportedly flat-out lying about his family background, his education, his relationship, and more.
With a slim majority in the House, and after an exhausting, drawn-out battle to become Speaker, McCarthy can hardly afford to alienate or lose a single supporter, yet he still has to find a way to assure the public that his party isn’t endorsing lying or wrongdoing.
The recent move by the majority to reduce the function of the Ethics Committee provides him with that way out.
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In a Thursday press conference, McCarthy was asked what he plans to do about Santos, and his response was carefully crafted to bounce between assurances that the Congressman will be held accountable, and defending his position.
Along the way, he said that Santos will face the Ethics Committee — without mentioning how Republicans have worked to de-tooth that panel. He says:
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“He’s got a long way to go to earn trust…the voters of his district have elected him…There are concerns with it so he will go before Ethics.”
Watch below:
.@SpeakerMcCarthy on George Santos: "He's got a long way to go to earn trust…The voters of his district have elected him. He is seated. He is part of the Republican Conference…He will be held accountable, exactly as anybody else in his body would be." pic.twitter.com/mt9cDtYk5q
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 12, 2023
Meanwhile, Santos himself was appearing on Steve Bannon’s podcast, with Representative Matt Gaetz sitting in for Bannon, and assuring anyone who would listen that he’s “never been accused of any bad-doing.”
“I’ve worked my entire life. I’ve lived an honest life.”
George Santos: "I've lived an honest life." pic.twitter.com/8NIoD8TmUN
— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) January 12, 2023
As for the House Ethics Committee, former Representative David Skaggs, who served as co-chair of that panel during his time in Congress, explained in an interview with NPR this week how Republicans have worked to neutralize the Committee’s effectiveness, by making it harder to add members or replace exiting members, as well as limiting how long a member can stay on the board:
“There will still be a board, although the membership of the board may be drawn down significantly, at least until there are new members selected by the two leaders. So for the short term anyway, yeah, it can struggle along and do some work, but it can’t do all that it has been used to doing.”